Sometimes letting them out can really help.”
Her mesmerizing eyes narrowed. “That sounds like the counselor in you.”
“Maybe. But it’s also the man in me wanting to get to know you better.”
She drew in a sharp breath. “Why do you have the innate ability to make me feel like I’m a teenager again?”
A sizzle of heat spread through his whole body, and he smiled. “Is that how you feel around me?”
“Yes. And it’s really irritating.”
He stepped closer. “It’s also arousing.”
Their eyes held for several seconds. Her gaze dropped to his lips. And as her breathing picked up, the desire he’d been fighting since the day he’d first heard her voice flared hot and strong.
He leaned down to kiss her.
Grimly barked, and she jerked back.
“Where did that stupid dog run off to?” She stepped around Ethan. “Grimly?”
Ethan sighed. They were always getting interrupted just when things were about to get interesting.
He followed her up the path before she could get too far ahead. “Samantha?”
Rounding a bend, he spotted her, standing on the edge of a clearing. Blue-green mountains lingered in the distance. The faint rush of water whispered through the trees.
Ethan slowed as he drew up beside her and looked around the forest. Déjà vu trickled through him, leaving his skin prickly and hot. And not in a good way.
“I used to play up here when I was a kid.” Samantha pointed. “My friends and I built a fort in the trees through there. On the other side of that ridge is a waterfall and swimming hole where we used to cool off when it was really hot.”
Ethan knew all too well about the waterfall. His pulse picked up, and he fought the growing sickness in his stomach.
He hadn’t realized this was the forest. He’d been a kid when he’d been here last. Hadn’t put two and two together. Hadn’t once thought it could be anywhere near Samantha’s property.
Samantha turned up the path and resumed walking.
Thankful she hadn’t noticed, he drew a deep breath and followed. But his fingers curled into his palms to fight the sudden nicotine craving, and he wished he hadn’t thrown away that last pack he’d kept hidden in his car.
His muscles finally relaxed when he realized they weren’t headed toward the falls but into the trees again. Samantha wove around tree trunks, over downed logs on the sparse path. She was quiet as she made her way across the forest floor, and for the first time, Ethan didn’t mind. She stopped again as they approached a small run-down cabin. The roof was patchy, missing in spots. The glass windows were broken out. Pinecones littered the front stoop, and the logs of the old shack were rotted and cracked in multiple places.
“I always end up here,” she said softly. “I don’t know why, but whenever I come this way, I always end up in this place.”
Ethan didn’t remember the cabin, but it had obviously been here for years. “Did you used to play here too?”
“No. I’ve never even been inside. But, I don’t know, it always just seems to draw me up here. Like it’s waiting for me.”
She was quiet for a long time as she studied the shack, and a whisper of foreboding shot down Ethan’s spine.
This time, he didn’t hesitate to reach for her hand. Suddenly needed the contact. And something inside him sensed she needed it too.
She looked over as his thumb grazed the back of her fingers. “Weird, huh?”
“No, not really. Something about the place probably scared you as a kid. Childhood fears can last a long time.”
“I have dreams about it.” Her gaze slid back to the cabin. “There’s a light on in the windows—a cold light that seems to spill through the holes in the glass. And I can hear voices—angry voices—and crying. But I can never get up the courage to go in. I’ve made it to the window, but I’ve never looked inside.”
The blank look in her eyes sent a chill over Ethan that had nothing to do with the air temperature. Gently,
Her mesmerizing eyes narrowed. “That sounds like the counselor in you.”
“Maybe. But it’s also the man in me wanting to get to know you better.”
She drew in a sharp breath. “Why do you have the innate ability to make me feel like I’m a teenager again?”
A sizzle of heat spread through his whole body, and he smiled. “Is that how you feel around me?”
“Yes. And it’s really irritating.”
He stepped closer. “It’s also arousing.”
Their eyes held for several seconds. Her gaze dropped to his lips. And as her breathing picked up, the desire he’d been fighting since the day he’d first heard her voice flared hot and strong.
He leaned down to kiss her.
Grimly barked, and she jerked back.
“Where did that stupid dog run off to?” She stepped around Ethan. “Grimly?”
Ethan sighed. They were always getting interrupted just when things were about to get interesting.
He followed her up the path before she could get too far ahead. “Samantha?”
Rounding a bend, he spotted her, standing on the edge of a clearing. Blue-green mountains lingered in the distance. The faint rush of water whispered through the trees.
Ethan slowed as he drew up beside her and looked around the forest. Déjà vu trickled through him, leaving his skin prickly and hot. And not in a good way.
“I used to play up here when I was a kid.” Samantha pointed. “My friends and I built a fort in the trees through there. On the other side of that ridge is a waterfall and swimming hole where we used to cool off when it was really hot.”
Ethan knew all too well about the waterfall. His pulse picked up, and he fought the growing sickness in his stomach.
He hadn’t realized this was the forest. He’d been a kid when he’d been here last. Hadn’t put two and two together. Hadn’t once thought it could be anywhere near Samantha’s property.
Samantha turned up the path and resumed walking.
Thankful she hadn’t noticed, he drew a deep breath and followed. But his fingers curled into his palms to fight the sudden nicotine craving, and he wished he hadn’t thrown away that last pack he’d kept hidden in his car.
His muscles finally relaxed when he realized they weren’t headed toward the falls but into the trees again. Samantha wove around tree trunks, over downed logs on the sparse path. She was quiet as she made her way across the forest floor, and for the first time, Ethan didn’t mind. She stopped again as they approached a small run-down cabin. The roof was patchy, missing in spots. The glass windows were broken out. Pinecones littered the front stoop, and the logs of the old shack were rotted and cracked in multiple places.
“I always end up here,” she said softly. “I don’t know why, but whenever I come this way, I always end up in this place.”
Ethan didn’t remember the cabin, but it had obviously been here for years. “Did you used to play here too?”
“No. I’ve never even been inside. But, I don’t know, it always just seems to draw me up here. Like it’s waiting for me.”
She was quiet for a long time as she studied the shack, and a whisper of foreboding shot down Ethan’s spine.
This time, he didn’t hesitate to reach for her hand. Suddenly needed the contact. And something inside him sensed she needed it too.
She looked over as his thumb grazed the back of her fingers. “Weird, huh?”
“No, not really. Something about the place probably scared you as a kid. Childhood fears can last a long time.”
“I have dreams about it.” Her gaze slid back to the cabin. “There’s a light on in the windows—a cold light that seems to spill through the holes in the glass. And I can hear voices—angry voices—and crying. But I can never get up the courage to go in. I’ve made it to the window, but I’ve never looked inside.”
The blank look in her eyes sent a chill over Ethan that had nothing to do with the air temperature. Gently,
Similar Books
